Is there any actual evidence about the corrolation between the number of GCSE's taken & the grades achieved?

Do you mean that if you take too many subjects you can drop grades? That there is an optimum number of exams before your brain explodes/teaching time reduces?

Tried to google this and found some comments by the Eton head in 2008. Not very scientific but perhaps this is the 'research' Michael Gove has used to base his Ebacc on - most of his other policies are back of envelope territory!

Good luck - can't find any more (but some interesting DfE research on early entry). It does seem a lot - back in the dark ages I took 8 O-levels and we managed to have at least 2 hours a week per subject plus PE and RE, and much more break time than they get now. I don't know how they would timetable 14 subjects.

If you are ancient like me then you will recall that the powers that be thought that an 8 subject O level education was too narrow. This was also the rationale of the 4 subject AS courses. My DD did 13 (including add maths) and her school, like most round here, works on a 2 week timetable. So there is less teaching time per subject than in the old days, but then kids have the chance to do 3 sciences, languages, humanities, art, music ...

I know DD is in an unusual position (wanting an alternative career in the short term); but I wish the school were more flexible about individual needs - they are quite stubborn about children with additional needs doing excessive GCSEs

I guess I'd just like a bit of differentiation RiversideMum - DD thinks she will retrain when she is 30

Hi Picturesinthefirelight - we are having a dancing trauma weekend here

Round here the comps put bright kids in for everything they can get then to pass (at least that's what it seems from the outside looking in). Ds has a mate who joined his selective school with 14 A/*. However still only double science award, so I do question whether these area all in useful subjects...

That standard amount for ds and his mates is 10 academically rigerous subjects. A few have more if they do variants of maths, or family languages.

Why BTEC Science and 2 Science GCSEs (are either Double or Triple) Surely it is essentially the same syllabus ? BTECs may be "worth" 4 GCSE passes but I'm not convinced employers view them as such unless strictly relevant.

I think your argument should be that she needs as many at C or above as possible and that studying so many will compromise that. Still at the logic that a subject you take in Year 9 can outweigh the value of those taken later !

I teach in FE and I constantly wonder why schools put students in for 10-14 GCSEs if they are not capable of a C. I've taught people with 10 G grades. Surely they would be better with 5 GCSEs at C? And they could still take other subjects for interest.

I also wonder why more schools don't enter ESOL students for GCSEs in the languages they speak at home. Obviously you also need to be able to read and write in that language to pass, but many do.

Sorry, rant over. I was severely scarred by helping a group create their CVs. Non put their languages down, 'because I don't have a qualification in it'.